Feb. 20, 2010
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NORMAL, Ill. -
Senior Osiris Eldridge scored a game-high 26 points to lead Illinois State to its fifth-straight win over non-conference rival Morehead State, 71-62, at Redbird Arena Saturday afternoon. The Redbirds (20-8, 10-6 MVC) also got strong efforts from Alex Rubin, who finished with a career-high 15 points, and Justin Clark and Dinma Odiakosa, who both added 10 points.
Odiakosa finished with his tenth double-double of the season, after grabbing 11 boards, and Eldridge nearly collected a double-double as well, finishing with nine rebounds against the Eagles. Illinois State ended the game shooting 48.8 percent (20-for-41) and held Morehead State to just 40.7 percent (22-54) from the field.
Eldridge opened the game with two quick three pointers and Odiakosa added a pair of layups to give the Redbirds an early 10-5 lead. MSU was able to keep it close, going on a 7-0 run over a two-minute span, to give the Eagles a one-point lead with at 17-16 with 10:30 remaining in the first half.
Back-to-back layups by Odiakosa and Justin Clark, who was fouled and converted the traditional three-point play, gave the Redbirds a 25-20 lead before Kenneth Faried scored back-to-back buckets to cut the ISU lead to one at 27-26 with just under three minutes remaining on the clock. Eldridge then gave Illinois State a four-point lead at the break on a step-back jumper over Morehead State's Faried as time expired.
The Redbirds used hot shooting to score the first eight points of the second half and were able to push their lead to 11 points at 41-30 after a three-pointer by Rubin at the 17:05 mark. Morehead State quickly found its rhythm and went on a 15-6 run over a 6:22 span to cut the lead down to two at 47-45 with just under 11 minutes left in the contest. However, ISU continued to move the ball and work their offense, gaining a 12-point advantage with 4:53 remaining.
The Eagles rallied, thanks to solid three-point shooting from Terrance Hill and Demonte Harper, and cut the Redbirds' lead to just four points with 2:06 left in the game. Seniors Lloyd Phillips and Eldridge made several key free-throws in the closing minutes to clinch the win for Illinois State, their 20th of the season. ISU has won at least 20 games in each of its last three seasons.
Faried led the Eagles with 13 points and Harper added 11 points and six rebounds. Faried, the nation's leading rebounder heading into the game with a 13.1 average per game, was held to just eight boards Saturday by the Redbirds.
The Redbirds will return to action Wednesday, Feb. 24, for their final home game of the season against Indiana State. Illinois State will look to avoid the season sweep against the Sycamores in a 7:05 p.m., game on Senior Night at Redbird Arena.
